Wednesday, June 1, 2005

1

Paris is calling…

The flight from Chicago to Paris was a breeze – straight through from O’Hare to De Gaulle in about 9 hours – long enough to eat, sleep, and KNIT!

I brought bamboo needles in my carry-on and cast-on for my Bisect Shell while in the waiting area of O’Hare, after going through check-in and security. No one questioned the needles – they were in the plastic sleeve with my pattern. (I checked American Airlines at their website, which indicated that needles were OK…)

Before I knew it, 4 inches had grown from that beginning and the plane was ready to land. After I gathered my bags, I started walking through De Gaulle – my plane was over 45 minutes late and I was starting to panic! I was supposed to hook up with Jackie, who had just flown in from NYC and believe me when I say, the thought of being lost in a foreign airport, barely speaking another language, with my Big Jet Head – was a really disturbing possibility.

LUCKILY while I was wandering over to the Air France Terminal I ran SMACK DAB into the lovely, pink tweed wearin’ J-Blue herself and we were OFF! We got to our new neighborhood via the #4 Le Car from Air France (a nice comfy bus) and hooked up with the indomitable FLuffa in Paris, Becky in Bastille! What a fabulous reunion! (And I say reunion, because I felt like I’d know these chicas forever – blogging is like that…) Saturday evening was spent wandering our new neighborhood, the Bastille outdoor market and lounging in a cafe…

click all small pics for larger pix

Do-able: Many places are closed on Sundays and Mondays in Paris – Sunday for worship; Monday for the clerks! I love that idea but it can be a little hard to find something to do that’s fun when you’re jet lagged…

While reading about the City awhile back, I’d discovered that on the weekends and Mondays, there are several Flea Markets around Paris and THAT made me very excited.

The largest of these Fleas is Puces de Saint-Ouen on the North side of town (why do I feel funny calling Paris a t-o-w-n? Could it be the lesson the grumpy old flower vendor on Place Aligre I met in 1995 taught me when he found out I was from Chicago? After he sent a loud snort in my direction, he said, "Pwwaaah, Chicago is but a village compared to Paris…" But of course, he was absolutely correct…)

We decided to forgoe the immense and possibly intimidating huge St-Ouen and spend our Sunday exploring Port de Vanves.

Wear-able: And what did the sleepy little traveler from Chicago find?

Buttons!!! A lovely young woman had a table FULL of vintage delights to tickle the fancy of even the most Hard Core Button Hound (ahem… ME!)

The Puce de Vanves was just big enough to be interesting and just small enough not to defeat those of us with Big Jet Head. The fresh air and cooler weather welcomed us to the City and whet our appetite for the fun to come…

And Baby, it arrived! Towards the end of our ramblings, Jackie spotted a wonderful find that unfortunately didn’t fit her. And who did it FIT?

Moi! These lovely vintage pumps are destined for some Chicago summer fun!

And who could resist a ittle Bijoux Deluxe?

Just a fabulous vintage rhinestone and oxidated metal flower for my Jean Jacket…

I just realized the other day that I’m knitting a phildar tank in bright green yarn so I will forever have a souvenir of your trip to Paris! Wish I coulda been there — my hubby says Paris is my kinda town. One day… welcome home, btw! Jackie is smashing, isn’t she?

That flea market was an EXCELLENT thing to visit; very much in the “let’s experience the real Paris” line of things. Thanks for pointing me towards it. Now I’m hooked! I want to go again and see if I can snag a beautiful flower like the one you got. (I think you have Bionic Man vision. You spotted that from miles away.)